1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of computing. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for dynamically managing data-type file associations and relationships.
2. Background Information
With advances in integrated circuit, microprocessor, networking and communication technologies, an increasing number of devices, in particular, digital computing devices, are being networked together to facilitate the exchange of information. Accordingly, traditional audio and video content providers such as radio and television studios, recording associations, independent recording artists, and so forth, are turning to digital communication networks such as the Internet for dissemination and distribution of multimedia content.
Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) represent an extension of the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) that enables the exchange of different types of data files including such types as audio, video, images, application programs, and so forth on the Internet. Network servers typically insert a MIME header at the beginning of each web transmission, while client devices typically use the inserted MIME information to select an appropriate “player” application to render the content. Some such players may be built into a given web client or browser while other players or plug-ins may need to be downloaded.
Typically, each application to be installed on a client device contains its own list of data-type (e.g. file-type, MIME-type) associations that the application blindly associates with itself upon installation and manages thereafter. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for an application being installed onto a client device to associate itself with some or all file/MIME types previously assigned to other applications. Unfortunately for the user however, this re-association behavior can detract from the usability of a system forcing the user the manually restore their previous file/MIME type associations. Additionally, as new protocols and/or data-types are developed, users are often forced to download new plug-ins/updates or software applications to handle the new protocols/data-types, further detracting from the user experience.
As the number of player/rendering applications available on the market continues to increase, the problems associated with data-type management compound.